Effective networking: enabling effective communications towards 6G

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.comcom.2023.12.002

The realization of envisioned 6G use cases involving holographic and multi-sensory communications demand terabits per second data rates and latencies in the range of microseconds for an immersive experience. Concurrently, 6G's hyper-intelligent IoT use cases require extremely low-latency and reliable communications at the network edge. To address these requirements, communications should be tailored to end-user goals. To this end, we study communication effectiveness, where a sender and receiver harness their computing capabilities and artificial intelligence, to maximize the impact of transmitted messages while sending fewer bits. On our model, the messages can get shorter as locally accumulated knowledge increases the targeted effect of the message. Hence, we describe a framework in which the accumulated knowledge can be aggregated and shared in a distributed manner. On a real-life use case, we showcase the potential reduction in the number of bits transmitted owing to the transferred accumulated knowledge. Finally, we explore future research directions in effective communications, considering technical, economical, and privacy considerations.